CASABLANCAS RETURNS

JOHN CASABLANCAS, the Elite Models founder who once famously branded Heidi Klum a "German sausage" is coming back to work his magic. Having founded the company responsible for bringing the likes of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer to supermodel fame 34 years ago, Casablancas retired five years ago to live in Brazil with his wife and three children. However Eddie Trump, who bought Elite last year, wants his inimitable advice. Casablancas told PAGESIX.COM that the recent class-action lawsuits brought against Elite by models who claimed to have been underpaid could have cost the company up to $30 million. And he is convinced he is the man to put things right. "The whole industry is on its knees," he said. "Hopefully we can change the gloomy mood of the business." (January 27 2005, AM)